Half of a Yellow Sun

This chapter opens with a narrative shift, in that the tale is now being told through the lens of Olanna instead of Ugwu. Odenigbo is driving Olanna to the local airport as she is going to go visit her family in the city of Lagos. Odenigbo drops her off at the airport, and, after she has boarded the plane, the man sitting next to her remarks on her beauty. This comment only makes Olanna think about Odenigbo, and she thinks back to when the two first met.

At the time of their meeting, Olanna had been romantically engaged with a man named Mohammed. This all changed one day when she was waiting to purchase a ticket outside a local theater. The employee in the ticket booth allowed a white man to cut Olanna in line, which Odenigbo loudly decried. Olanna turned to Odenigbo and offered her approval of his action, and she described being strongly attracted to him from that point on. Shortly thereafter, the two began seeing each other and have been together since. Olanna describes being nervous about their moving in together.

Later that night, Olanna and her family, including her sister Kainene, are having dinner with the finance minister Chief Okonji. An illustrious feast is produced for this occasion, as Olanna’s father is trying to ascertain a building contract from the minister and must win his favor. The Chief offers Olanna employment within his administrative department, but she turns him down since she will soon be moving in with Odenigbo. Not long after this, the Chief invites Olanna and her family over to his residence that weekend, but Olanna quickly realizes what has happened: the Chief has been promised sex with her in exchange for giving her father the contract he desires. Without hesitation, Olanna declines.

Later on, Olanna is sitting in her room when her sister Kainene comes to visit her. Kainene dryly jokes about Olanna’s being offered as a bargaining chip, but then changes the subject to Kainene’s boyfriend Richard, who will be moving to Nsukka soon. Olanna is not fond of Englishmen, but has no problem with Richard as he is very respectful of local customs and does not look down upon the locals in any way. Olanna attempts to continue this discussion with Kainene, but she abruptly departs, leaving Olanna to reflect on how she wishes she were closer with her sister.

Shortly thereafter, Olanna boards a train to the town of Kano to visit with her Aunty Ifeka and her Uncle Mbaezi. Though the two are impoverished, they are still extremely kind in their hosting of Olanna, which makes her realize that she enjoys their presence more than that of her parents. The next day, Olanna goes to visit with her wealthy previous romantic partner, Mohammed. They are still friendly with one another, and she asks him to drive her around the city for the day.

During their car ride, Mohammed indirectly suggests that he still has strong feelings for Olanna, and he light-heartedly pokes fun at Odenigbo. As they continue on their drive, he says that Olanna is similar to white people in that she marvels over the most common of things. Olanna adamantly disagrees, to which Mohammed says that of course she is a true patriot, as she is about to marry the revolutionary Odenigbo. 

The narrative cuts ahead to when Olanna has finally moved to Nsukka. Odenigbo must leave to attend an academic conference, so she will have his house to herself for a while. She begins to change several minor things around the house, such as its flower arrangements, which irritates Ugwu. Once Odenigbo returns from his trip, he introduces Olanna to some of his routine visitors, such as Miss Adebayo, Professor Ezeka, and Okeoma. Later, Odenigbo remarks that it appears that Okeoma and some of his other friends are falling in love with Olanna, but she still feels like an outsider in their group. Olanna is strongly in love with Odenigbo, but she declines his suggestion of marriage, as she believes remaining unmarried will keep their relationship exhilarating.

Once again, this chapter opens with a shift in narrative and focuses on the viewpoint of the Englishman Richard Churchill. At the beginning of the chapter, he is dating an expatriate woman named Susan, who brings Richard to the parties of the local English. He finds that his peers are all extremely racist towards the locals, and he sits quietly off to the side of these events. Richard sincerely admires the local culture and the roped pots of olden Igbo-Ukwu art. If Richard talks to white woman at these parties, Susan becomes enraged, but if he talks to African women, she does not mind since she does not view them as a threat.

Before heading out to Nigeria, Richard had been put in touch with Susan through his Aunt Elizabeth. After spending a few weeks together, Richard reluctantly relented to Susan’s suggestion that he move in with her. Susan and Richard attend a local party, where he is introduced to the highly-educated and well-connected Kainene and they instantly hit it off. Several days later, Richard looks up Kainene’s phone number and invites her for a drink. In turn, she invites him to one of the private suites of her father’s hotel.

After their first meeting goes well, they decide to have lunch again several days later. Soon thereafter, Kainene kisses Richard, and they begin to undress each other, though he is unable to become fully aroused. Later, they again try to have sex, but again Richard is embarrassed as he climaxes within seconds. Regardless, Kainene invites the Englishman to come and have dinner with her family that night. At dinner, Kainene’s father asks Richard if he has any noteworthy connections, and Richard says he does not. For this, Kainene’s father ignores Richard for the entire meal.

Later, Richard breaks up with Susan so that he can be with Kainene. The two attempt to have sex again but are again unsuccessful. Richard then travels to Nsukka, while Kainene travels to her house in Port Harcourt. En route to Nsukka, Richard visits the excavation site at Igbo-Ukwu where a large amount of ancient roped pots were found. He is amazed at their intricacies, but, as he leaves, he ponders what he is doing with himself and wonders what he will say in the book that he is intending to write.

Richard finally arrives at the university and receives his houseboy, who is an older man named Harrison. He meets his gardener, Jomo, and Richard asks Jomo if he knows of any herbs that will improve sexual performance. Jomo says they will not work on white men. Richard also meets Olanna and Odenigbo, and he begins to spend more time with them.

Next, Richard goes to visit Kainene at her house in Port Harcourt. She introduces Richard to a military officer named Madu who instantly intimidates the Englishman. Later, Madu invites one of his military colleagues over who is named Ekechi, and Ekechi berates Kainene for hanging around with white people. Madu ushers Ekechi away, and the jealous Richard bombards Kainene with questions.

At this point, an interesting shift in the narrative occurs. An unnamed narrator begins to describe a book titled The World Was Silent When We Died. The narrator describes the prologue, which is filled with descriptions of genocide. The cover of the book is a map of Nigeria that bears a circle around an area known as “Biafra.” With this, the chapter ends.

We are once again brought to Ugwu’s viewpoint. As the chapter opens, Ugwu is cleaning up after Odenigbo and his usual visitors have eaten lunch, and he takes the opportunity to eat the leftover scraps from their plates. After he is done cleaning, he begins working on his homework for the day, during which he considers his teacher’s statement that he will likely be able to skip a grade since he has a strong and inherent intelligence. It is made clear that Ugwu’s mother is supposed to be visiting him at Nsukka very shortly.

Richard has been extremely interested in Ugwu as of late, and he constantly asks the houseboy about his upbringing and the culture of his home village. Richard describes how he would love to experience the ori-okpa festivities that are indigenous to Ugwu’s village. As Ugwu is preparing food for dinner that night, the doorbell of the house rings and he is surprised to find his Aunty and not his mother. His Aunty explains that his mother could not come as she is extremely ill and that Ugwu must come back to his village at once.

Odenigbo says that he will drive the two back to their village so as to pick the boy’s mother up and then bring her back to his medically-trained friend, Dr. Patel. Once the trio arrives in Opi, Ugwu’s father comes out and expresses his extreme gratitude towards Odenigbo for his efforts. Ugwu and Odenigbo help carry the boy’s mother to the car, and they set off back to Nsukka. Upon arriving, Dr. Patel immediately begins treating the woman for an infection.

The next day, Ugwu’s mother is feeling much better, and Ugwu takes her on a tour of the university campus. She is greatly impressed by its quality and appearance. Ugwu’s mother must return home, and the boy begins preparing for the arrival of Odenigbo’s mother, who will soon be visiting as well. Once Odenigbo’s mother arrives, she makes a big fuss over Olanna’s presence and accuses her of being a witch. Horrified, Olanna quickly retreats to her own apartment. Odenigbo’s mother continues to speak badly about Olanna, talk to which Ugwu agrees in order to keep the angry woman satisfied. 

The mother says she is going to contact a medicine man to rectify the situation and Ugwu goes and tells Odenigbo, as he is worried that Olanna could be in danger. When Odenigbo hears the news, he goes straight to his house.

This chapter opens through the lens of Olanna’s viewpoint. After Olanna’s combative incident with Odenigbo’s mother, Odenigbo arrives at her apartment to console her. He describes his mother as a villager who is simply susceptible to the rural superstitions found throughout their country. Olanna replies that “your mother made a scene” (128). Odenigbo says that he will stay with Olanna that night to make her feel better, but Olanna is against this and tells Odenigbo to leave immediately. At this, Odenigbo angrily leaves. 

Now alone, Olanna begins to question her relationship with Odenigbo. She thinks about the fact that they have never had a real fight before. She also begins to doubt whether or not Odenigbo really cares about her feelings and beliefs, and she wonders if he has just been stringing her along this whole time. To make herself feel better, Olanna calls Kainene in order to vent and receive some consolation. After talking for a while, Olanna asks Kainene why they are not close any longer. To this question, Kainene has no response, so Olanna quickly shifts the discussion and then ends the call.

Still upset about the incidents that have occurred, Olanna begins to ruminate on how she wishes she were stronger and more independent than she really is. She attempts to call Mohammed, but he is not home and does not answer. After the failed phone call, Olanna decides that she still wants to be with Odenigbo and that she wants to bear his child, though it is a topic that they have never even broached. Shortly thereafter, Odenigbo arrives again and apologizes for all that has occurred; Olanna asks him not to go and to stay there with her for a time.

Odenigbo’s mother finally departs from Odenigbo’s house, and this allows Olanna to move back in with her lover. Ugwu is still concerned that Odenigbo’s mother is up to nefarious affairs, as he sees a black cat near the residence and feels it might be a sign that Odenigbo’s mother has cursed Olanna. Olanna is doubtful about this, and she remarks that there is nothing in the world that can keep the two lovers apart. Internally, however, she wonders whether or not this is really the case. 

A few days later, Olanna is greatly surprised when Odenigbo claims that the two should have a child together. As Olanna had felt this way herself, she sees this as a sign that their love for each other was meant to be. With this in mind, she is quite agreeable to Odenigbo’s proposition, so that very morning they have sex in an effort to make their wish a reality. Doubt creeps over Olanna however, and the chapter closes with her wondering if her body is even capable of conception.

This chapter is focused through the viewpoint of Richard. Its first scene is set within Odenigbo’s house, during a dinner party of Odenigbo’s friends. The main course is pepper soup, which Richard is thoroughly enjoying to the surprise of the Africans who note that most Westerners simply cannot bear the spicy intensity of the dish. After the meal ends, the group moves to Odenigbo’s living room where a musical discussion ensues. Richard comments upon and asks questions about High Life music, whereas Odenigbo expresses his love for the classical music of the Western world.

The groups conversation progresses, and Okeoma queries Richard about the book that the Englishman is working on. Richard confesses that he is ashamed that he has barely started writing it, but he mentions how he would love to include the Igbo-Ukwu roped pots in the book’s narrative in some way, as he holds such art to be truly marvelous. Okeoma remarks that Richard sounds surprised that the ancient Africans were capable of producing such artworks. This remark horrifies Richard, and he quickly leaves. 

Richard is upset when he finally arrives home, and the first thing he does is destroy the tentative manuscript of his book that he has been working on. Richard wakes up the next day and is still quite upset about what has occurred between him and Okeoma, so he determines never to appear as a condescending Englishman again. He cannot shake the feeling, however, that there will always be friction between the locals and the Europeans.

Richard goes and visits Kainene, and tells her about what happened with Okeoma. Kainene remarks that it is certainly conceivable to love something and still harbor condescension towards it. This leaves Richard in a state of confusion, and he is uncertain as to whether or not he can even continue writing at all. They cancel their dinner plans and determine to stay in together for the night. Kainene explains to Richard that she once spit into her father’s drink for vengeance, and Richard replies that he never had the courage to do such things. Instead, he relays how he thinks his parents never truly loved him.

The chapter ends with another description of the book The World Was Silent When We Died. The anonymous writer of this narrative details how the English artificially constructed Nigeria and structured it in such a way that the indigenous Hausa tribe would have the most administrative power in its government (as opposed to the Yoruba and Igbo tribes). The author describes how the English favored the Hausa because they were easy to subjugate. The chapter closes with the author relaying how Nigeria was formed in 1914 when its Southern and Northern portions were officially combined, regardless of their religious and cultural differences.